Contact Police Oversight Panel

Purpose and Role

The Police Oversight Panel was created by the Council to increase community involvement in police oversight and to ensure that historically excluded communities have a voice in police oversight. The ordinance establishes the Police Oversight Panel an independent entity supported by the Office of the Independent Police Monitor. Police Oversight Panel By-laws were updated in September 2024: Police Oversight Panel By-laws PDF.

The monitor assists the panel by providing summaries of complaints and complaint investigations, data on monthly statistics, analysis of local policing trends and access to national best practices. The monitor also organizes and facilitates the training of panel members.

The role of the panel is to review completed internal complaint investigations, make recommendations on disposition and discipline for those complaints, and to make policy and training recommendations to the department. The panel may also identify analyses that they would like the monitor to conduct. The panel members also provide an oversight function with regard to the monitor by providing regular feedback to the monitor and to the city regarding the work of the monitor’s office.

Apply to be a Panel Member

We expect the recruitment window to open in mid-December.

The following is the anticipated recruitment schedule:

February 10-15: Candidate interviews

Friday, February 21: Candidate selection and notification

Saturday, March 1: Mandatory training

Monday, March 10: Appointment and first meeting with the Police Oversight Panel

Student Panel members may serve for a maximum of two consecutive terms for a maximum of two years.

Police Oversight Panel Meetings Video Playlist

Co-Chairs

  • Maria - Soledad Diaz
  • Victor King

Members

Bwembya Chikolwa

Dr. Chikolwa is Senior Manager of Property Tax at Lumen Technologies, Inc. He earned a Ph.D. in Real Estate Investment and Finance in 2008 and is currently pursuing a MS in Organizational Leadership at the University of Colorado, Boulder. Before moving to Boulder, Dr. Chikolwa practiced as a registered Property Valuer in both private and public sectors for over 12 years before joining academia. In 2007, he joined Queensland University of Technology in Brisbane, Australia, teaching and researching property investment and finance, and project and infrastructure finance.

Victor King

Victor King is a Recovery Coach Manager at Mental Health Partners. A longtime Boulder resident who brings a passion and experiential knowledge of recovery. He is a current member of the 2020-2021 Leadership Fellows of Boulder County.

Maria-Soledad Diaz

Born in Chile, Soledad studied Social Sciences and Law at Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, and Professional Photography at Universidad del Pacifico. She has dedicated her professional life to serving underprivileged communities and has focused her work in equity, social justice and anti-violence work. Currently, Soledad is the Public Policy and Community Impact Director for Violence Free Colorado, Chair of the Community Advisory Board for Downtown Boulder Partnership and is committed through her work in all its different ways and forms, to strengthen our sense of community and become a part of each other’s solutions.

Mylene Vialard

Mylene identifies as a White Woman who is bi-lingual in French and English. Mylene has been a Boulder resident for the last 15 years where she has also raised her daughter in the BVSD school system. Over the past two years, Mylene has been an active member of the Boulder chapter of Showing Up for Racial Justice (BSURJ) where she has been delving into the intricacies of life, culture and policies in Boulder through the lens of engaged antiracism, conversations about racial justice and building relationships with accountability partners such as NAACP, Right Relationship Boulder, and other organizations in Boulder County and Denver. As a single mother, a freelance translator, and a concerned member of the community, Mylene feels it is her duty to be more involved in ensuring that all voices in Boulder are heard and included. She has worked for years as a cultural and language ambassador for francophone countries, but also for other countries around the world. Most recently, she has shifted her attention to a deeper level of civic and local engagement and is looking forward to bringing her experience to the panel.

Jason Savela

Jason Savela identifies as a white man and been a criminal defense lawyer in Boulder for 20 years. He stays up to date on newer police tactic trainings and does not feel he sees it deployed regularly enough. He believes that change will take time and effort and wants to be an active part of that change. Jason feels he has a positive relationship with Boulder prosecutors, judges, public defenders, and some officers. He wants to work with the panel and other players to find outcomes that are just and will foster better relationships between officers and community members. Jason’s continued education over the last 10 or so years has primarily been about communication, connection, and empathy. He feels he is better able to work on this type of panel with these skills. Jason has lived and practiced law in the Boulder area for 20 years. Jason has practiced law all over Colorado, with over 3 years as a Public Defender in Colorado Springs and 2 years in Adams County, including handling and trying cases in Hugo, Durango, Georgetown, Ft. Collins, Holyoke, Meeker, Greeley, Denver

Lizzie Friend

Lizzie Friend was previously the Director of Performance Management and Strategy for the Denver Sheriff Department, a position she held until 2022. She now works for the Denver Department of Public Health and Environment, where she oversees data analytics and informatics, epidemiology, and communicable disease intervention teams. She is passionate about using data to continuously improve government services, increase equity in our communities, and reduce harm. She lives in South Boulder and is raising two kids in BVSD schools.

Arlette "AB" Barlow

A mother of four, Arlette Barlow is a mainstay of Boulder. She serves on the Board at the Dairy Arts Center and on the Board of Trustees at Watershed School where her twin daughters attend middle school.
Raised in Europe, the US and before Boulder, New Orleans, she gained a unique perspective on the human condition and sees humanity—in all its struggles and triumphs—as being more similar than different.
A ceramicist of 30 years, she recently placed her work in The New Local, a burgeoning center for female artists in Boulder.
A transformation coach, she helps people play for their big dreams and facilitates their path to greater belonging in this world. Her biggest joy is guiding people on their journeys of connection. She believes this connection can be strengthened at the community level and is most excited about bringing this worldview to the Boulder POP Panel.

Bill de la Cruz

Bill de la Cruz is a facilitator, trainer and developer of community engagement conversations with a variety of constituents. Bill has worked with police departments, first responders, educators in K-12 and higher education, municipalities, healthcare workers, attorneys, nonprofits and human resource agencies in Boulder County and around the state and country. His work is grounded in conversations about ways to enhance and evolve systemic policies, practices and protocols to lead to improved outcomes. Additionally, he supports individuals and groups to resolve conflict and build sustainable skills to transform conflict into learning and growth opportunities. In his work as a consultant, Bill works with organizations and individuals to understand and break through the impacts of bias, judgments and stereotypes in how we see and interact with each other.

Abigail Franke

Abigail Franke is a law student at the University of Colorado Boulder pursuing her J.D. with a certificate in Racial Justice and Civil Rights. She is the Diversity Equity and Inclusion Executive Editor of the Colorado Law Review vol. 96. Currently she is working in the field of indigent criminal defense and plans to work for the Colorado Public Defender's Office after earning her J.D. Abigail was raised in South Texas before receiving her BA in English from Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem North Carolina and has witnessed a myriad of policing practices. While she is relatively new to the area she hopes that she is able to effectively advocate for better policing practices in Boulder which will serve the Boulder community as a whole.

Luna Rosal

Luna is descended from Filipino farmers and Mormon pioneers, growing up at the base of the Uintah Mountains in Utah. They came to Boulder to study Religion and Environmental Justice in Naropa University’s Interdisciplinary Studies program. They also work for the university under the office for Mission, Culture, and Inclusive Community as a Restorative Community officer and office assistant. A queer and multicultural Pinay, their passions include poetry, dancing, and developing structures that will help us remember our basic togetherness. Their work is grounded in the philosophies of Gloria Anzaldúa, Laozi, and Adrienne Maree Brown, to name a few. Luna looks forward to serving on the panel with an open heart and fierce compassion.

Alan O'Hashi

Alan O’Hashi is an author and filmmaker based in Boulder, Colorado. He recently released a book, “Views from Beyond Metropolis: Reimagine the American Way and learn ways to bridge multicultural divides in an ever-changing world,” and a documentary film, “The Arapaho Covered Wagon Redux” about tribal efforts to regain land in Boulder taken after the Sand Creek Massacre. He is a seasoned diversity and cultural competency trainer facilitating groups, including the City of Boulder Police Department Victim Advocates and Boulder Valley School District high school mentors. Alan has presented at the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence National Conference, the National Practitioners Conference on Civic Engagement, and the Colorado Organization for Victim Assistance Conference. He is a past member of the Boulder Human Relations Commission and Boulder Planning Board and served on the U.S. Civil Rights Commission Wyoming Advisory Committee. Alan completed a U.S. Department of Justice Hate Crime Training for Region VIII and holds a Master’s in Public Administration from the CU-Denver Center for Domestic Violence Prevention.